During one performance on 29 January, Preston sang in one of the verses – in an echo of Dr Martin Luther King Jr’s “I have a dream” speech – “Black or white, we all deserve equal rights. These were the final four days of the Get Back/ Let It Be sessions.īilly Preston was accompanying the band at this time. The Beatles first played ‘I Want You (She’s So Heavy)’ on 28, 29, 30, and 31 January 1969, in the basement studio at their Apple HQ at 3 Savile Row, London. The finale from the song was mixed with the organ from ‘Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite!’ and some vocals from ‘Helter Skelter’ on 2006’s Love album. Lennon also used the white noise generator from a Moog synth to get the howling wind effect. Most remarkable, however, is the grinding three-minute finale, featuring Lennon’s and George Harrison’s massed overdubbed guitars multitracked many times over the same relentless chord pattern, which was slashed at full volume to give the impression that it could have gone on forever. Perhaps the sheer otherness of ‘I Want You (She’s So Heavy)’ explains why it was so well-liked by all members of The Beatles. The song contains the same phrases played over a number of rhythmic, tempo and time signature variations. The obsessiveness of the lyrics is reflected in the repetitiveness of the music. A direct outpouring of his all-consuming love for Yoko Ono, the song contains just 14 different words. It was also one of the final songs on the album to be completed.Ĭoming in at just under eight minutes, ‘I Want You (She’s So Heavy)’ also contains some of John Lennon’s simplest lyrics since the days of ‘Love Me Do’. Originally with the working title ‘I Want You’, the group returned to it less than a month later, as the first song to be recorded for Abbey Road. The Beatles had first played the song several times in January 1969, during the Get Back/ Let It Be sessions.

A cry of love in several parts, it was recorded over a six month period between February and August 1969. ‘I Want You (She’s So Heavy)’ was written by John Lennon and closed side one of the Abbey Road LP. John Lennon: vocals, lead guitar, Moog synthesiser Paul McCartney: backing vocals, bass George Harrison: backing vocals, lead guitar Ringo Starr: drums, congas Billy Preston: Hammond organ Written by: Lennon-McCartney Recorded: 22, 24 February 18, 20 April 8, 11 August 1969 Producers: George Martin, Glyn Johns, Chris Thomas Engineers: Barry Sheffield, Jeff Jarratt, Tony Clark, Geoff Emerick, Phil McDonald

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